Monthly Archives: September 2012

Being out in the field has limited my access to newspapers, which is particularly unfortunate in Malawi, where a lot of information still flows through the print media rather than online. I’ve argued previously that Malawi’s newspapers are quite good … Continue reading →

Anyone with even a passing interest in development has a litany of reasons that diamonds, and especially diamond engagement rings, are downright awful. The most famous of these is the possibility that you may be buying a “blood diamond”, a … Continue reading →

A new piece from the Huffington Post centers around a gallery of photos of some maternal health efforts in Malawi. It’s pretty informative and interesting, and I like that it highlights the successes the country has had in moving toward … Continue reading →

Any outsider who’s visited rural Africa knows that outsiders, especially white folks, are fairly rare in those parts. As I’ve written before, I’m the object of curious stares and the subject of ridiculous rumors whenever I venture out into the … Continue reading →

I feel it’s necessary to begin here by noting that I have close to zero doubt that climate change is a real thing that will cause real problems in the future, and that we need to take strong and immediate … Continue reading →

Another entry in my growing list of ways Malawi’s culture trumps what we do in the US. Malawian handshakes are always pretty cool – you start with a typical shake, then release and rotate your hand toward the person to … Continue reading →

The selection of Paul Ryan as the Republic vice presidential candidate has stirred up eternal arguments over America’s entitlement programs. This has in turn prompted the standard back-and-forth over whether Social Security constitutes a retirement account system, or is just … Continue reading →

The shadow of an impending famine hangs over TA Mwambo. According to employees at AGORA and ADMARC, maize prices are reaching record heights on the back of a failed crop last year, and at present it is extremely dry. We’ve … Continue reading →

In the US, plumbing practicalities and limited space mean that we use our “bathroom” principally for eliminating waste; bathing is just a secondary use. Smarter folks than me have observed that, constraints aside, this is a pretty terrible arrangement: we … Continue reading →

I was forwarded a copy of John Mauldin’s latest “Thoughts from the Frontline” email column by a friend. It’s basically a finance/investing newsletter that centers on economic issues. I get this kind of thing sent to me fairly regularly, since … Continue reading →